Soft, sticky, sweet, and rich, this French Red Onion Marmalade (Onion Jam) makes for a wonderfully delicious topping for pizzas, bruschetta, sandwiches, and burgers. Try it my way (vegetarian, gluten-free).
Here are some more jam and compote recipes you may try at home – Mango Jam, Instant Pot Strawberry Jam, and Peach Jam.

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About French Red Onion Marmalade (Onion Jam)
French Red Onion Marmalade (Onion Jam) is a delicious condiment that can perk up the taste of anything served with it. It is sweet and slightly tangy in taste and sticky and gooey in texture.
Serve it with chips or nachos, or slather it on pizzas, bruschetta, sandwiches, burgers, or any other dish that needs a good base.
This onion jam recipe keeps good in the refrigerator for a long time. So you can double or triple the recipe and keep relishing it.
The red onion marmalade recipe is also gluten-free and vegetarian and can be easily made vegan.
Ingredients


Red Onions – The key ingredient of this onion marmalade is red onions. If they are unavailable, you can use white or yellow onions too. The result is better with red onions as they are sweeter and also have thicker flesh and skin than white onions.
Brown Sugar – Brown sugar adds a nice caramelized taste and earthy sweetness to the marmalade.
Apple Juice – Apple juice is used for cooking the jam and gives it a slight sweetness. You can use packaged or homemade juice.
You can also replace the apple juice with pineapple juice or orange juice.
Red Pepper Flakes – You can adjust the red pepper flakes as per your taste.
Red Wine Vinegar – It gives a nice tang that complements the sweetness of the marmalade very well.
You can replace it with apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or white wine vinegar.
Others – You will also need salted butter, light olive oil, garlic cloves, salt, and black pepper powder to make this caramelized onion marmalade recipe.
To make the marmalade vegan, replace butter with light olive oil.
Herbs like thyme or rosemary can add extra flavor to this recipe.
Adding a splash of bourbon or sweet red wine to the almost-ready recipe takes it to another level.
You can also add crispy bacon and make onion bacon marmalade.
How To Make Onion Marmalade
Heat 2 tablespoon salted butter and 2 tablespoon light olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

Once the butter is melted, add 1 lb (500 g) of thinly sliced red onions and 2 teaspoon minced garlic and cook for a minute, stirring continuously.

Add
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup tightly packed brown sugar
and mix well.

Reduce the heat to low.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 30 minutes, stirring a few times.


Add 1 cup of apple juice and ¼ cup of red wine vinegar and stir to combine.

Cover the pan again and cook for another 30 minutes on low heat, stirring a few times.

Remove the lid and cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes or until the liquid is reduced, stirring frequently. Do not overcook; otherwise, the marmalade will become dry. Remember that the marmalade thickens some more as it cools down.
Remove the pan from heat and let the marmalade cool down to room temperature.
Store in a clean jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Frequently Asked Questions
If you are good at chopping, you can cut the onions using a sharp knife. Make sure the slices are thin and evenly sliced.
I use a mandolin slicer to slice my onions. It ensures they are all the same thickness and makes the job quicker.
If you have a food processor, you can use it too.
To make bacon onion marmalade, fry 5-6 strips of bacon from both sides until they are crisp.
Drain the bacon on a paper towel so that the towel soaks up the excess oil. Chop the crispy bacon into very small pieces and add them along with apple juice to the recipe.
Yes, you can substitute brown sugar with granulated organic cane sugar or honey for healthy alternatives.
To make it in a crockpot, dump all the ingredients in the bowl of the slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours. Stir 2-3 times in between.
Pro Tips By Neha
Always thinly and evenly slice the onions as they cook evenly and get adequately caramelized.
Cook the onions on low heat so they do not get brown faster. Also, cooking on high heat has more chance of burning the onions.
Serving Suggestions
You can use this marmalade as a topping for pizzas, bruschetta, open toasts, tarts, etc.
You can also use it as a spread for your sandwiches, burgers, wraps, or rolls.
It also tastes delicious on gourmet hot dogs, hamburgers, and steaks or as an accompaniment with a cheese platter or a charcuterie board. This delicious relish tastes particularly good with blue cheese, cream cheese, and goat cheese.
Mix this delicious onion marmalade with sour cream or mayonnaise and use it as a dip for your crackers, potato wedges, or fries.
I like adding some to my frittata, omelets, and feta or goat cheese.
It is a great condiment with cold meats, Mexican cornbread, or stirred-in Egg White Muffins.
You can top it over puff pastry sheets along with some cheese for a nice appetizer.
Storage Suggestions
You can store red onion marmalade in the fridge in a clean airtight container for a month. Use clean spoons to take out the marmalade.
You can freeze it for 2 to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag.
One great way to store this marmalade is to make cubes from it using an ice tray and then store the frozen cubes in freezer bags. When ready to use, thaw the marmalade on the kitchen counter or in the refrigerator until it is softened.
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Recipe Card

French Red Onion Marmalade Recipe (Onion Jam)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons salted butter (replace with light olive oil for vegan)
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil
- 1 pound red onions (500 g, thinly sliced)
- 5-6 cloves minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup brown sugar (tightly packed)
- 1 cup apple juice
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Heat butter and olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Once the butter is melted, add onions and garlic and cook for a minute, stirring continuously.
- Add salt, black pepper powder, red pepper flakes, and brown sugar and mix well.
- Reduce the heat to low.
- Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 30 minutes, stirring a few times while cooking.
- Add apple juice and red wine vinegar and stir to combine.
- Cover the pan again and cook for another 30 minutes on low heat, stirring a few times in between.
- Remove the lid and cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes or until the liquid is reduced, stirring very frequently. Do not overcook otherwise the marmalade will become dry. Keep in mind that the marmalade with thicken some more as it cools down.
- Remove the pan from heat and let the marmalade cool down to room temperature.
- Store in a clean jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Thea
Cant wait to make this! Tried something similar in Niagara but recipe used ALOT of wine!
can thus be adapted to the crockpot or instant pot? Ive done carmelized onions in the crockpot overnight using just onions and vegetable oil.
Neha Mathur
Hi Thea, Sure, you can make it in crock pot and Instant pot too.
Darlene Hryn Stainbrook
Like and will make again. Add a tbsp of molasses, hoping for a darker colour. Also cooked double the time to help get it thicker. Found cooking it longer made the onion taste a bit stronger. Made May 29, 2019 9/10
Neha Mathur
Thnx for trying and leaving for feedback.
Paige
How many onions is 500 grams?
msnehamathur
I used 4-5 medium sized onion Paige.
Kristi
Thank you for the weight of the onions! I weigh everything. Very helpful. Looking forward to making it.
Neha Mathur
🙂
Mom
Just made this with substitutions. Hubby says it’s great. I used orange juice, red wine vinegar, a cup of honey, and dumped in the last cup of a sweet dessert wine. Now to just remember this!
msnehamathur
Thnx a lot for trying :). Love your add ons.
Rohini
I would like to try this recipe. Do you use packaged apple juice or homemade? Is there a substitue for apple juice?
msnehamathur
Ho Rohini. I used packaged apple juice.
Rohini
Thanks for the recipe! Marmalade made, smells yum. Now onto the marmalade and spinich bread.
msnehamathur
Awesome 🙂